


Trost High

by Ketoprofen



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Explicit Language, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:07:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23558854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ketoprofen/pseuds/Ketoprofen
Summary: Levi and Kat are back, this time in a high school AU where they teach the 104th. It's been ten years since Levi and Kat dated in high school, and now Levi is back in town after disappearing shortly after graduation. How will Levi react when he discovers that Kat's been keeping a secret from him all these years?
Relationships: Levi & Reader, Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin) & Reader, Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Original Female Character(s), Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Reader, Levi/Reader
Comments: 8
Kudos: 49





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'll hopefully be posting updates every other day. I'm currently working nights, so my days are kind of screwy and I tend to lose track of what day of the week it is.
> 
> However, I'm starting my furlough from work next week, so that should mean a lot more time to finish all these damn stories I have in my Google docs. 
> 
> Yay Covid-19! No but seriously, I hope you're all staying safe and sane out there. And I hope you enjoy!

>Levi<

“Ready for your first day?” Erwin asked. It was early in the morning - about an hour before students were expected to start arriving on campus. He and I were sitting across from each other in his office - the principal's office. 

I had made sure to point out that Erwin’s office was disgusting - dust on the walls and bookshelves, cracks in the old wooden desk, carpet matted down after years of no real cleaning - but I'm not really sure what I expected. This was an old high school in a small town that had next to no budget. I should be grateful they had a custodial team at all.

I clicked my tongue and sipped my tea from my travel mug. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Erwin grinned a little as he stood up and motioned for me to follow him. “It’s too bad you couldn’t get into town sooner. You won’t get much of a chance to decorate your room.”

“Decorate my room?” I asked as I followed my old friend and current boss. “I’m teaching calculus to Juniors and Seniors, not arts and crafts to seven year olds. I don’t need to decorate my room.”

“You could at least get some math posters to hang on the walls," Erwin said.

I just scoffed and kept following him through the halls. I had just gotten into town two days before. I hadn't even had a chance to unpack and wash all my clothes, let alone unpack my school supplies and go shopping for decorations.

"Maybe over the next few years you'll slowly add some," Erwin said.

"I doubt I'll be here for more than a year or two."

"You never know," Erwin answered with a smug grin on his face as he unlocked a classroom. "Here's your room, and here's the key. I had IT come in yesterday and make sure everything was working properly so you should be good to go." He turned and started walking away. "I'll see you in the lounge at lunch time."

I just grunted in response and walked into my room. I left the door propped open as I set down my bag and started unpacking.

"Well well well," a voice called from the open doorway less than ten minutes later.

I recognized the voice and instantly regretted leaving my door open. I threw my head back in frustration, facing the ceiling as I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Hange," I greeted my vice principal flatly. It was supposed to be a hint that I didn't want to talk to her, but I knew better than to think she would pick up on the subtlety.

The bespectacled brunette leaned against my doorway with a stupid grin on her face. "I didn't believe Erwin at first when he told me you were coming back. I thought he was just messing with me all summer."

"Yeah well… I'm here," I answered and resumed unpacking my bag. Laptop, lesson plans, writing utensils, handouts…

"How's your mom?" Hange asked quietly as she finally fully entered the room and came to stand next to my desk.

I stopped what I was doing and leaned against the edge of the desk, crossing my arms over my chest. With a sigh, I said, "Not great. I think my coming home this weekend wore her out. She couldn't even come into the kitchen for breakfast this morning; I had to take it to her room."

Hange's grin turned sympathetic as she patted me on the shoulder. "Let me know if there's anything we can do for you. We all love your mom. It really hurt to hear the news."

I didn't respond. Mom had touched a lot of lives and had always treated my friends like they were her own children. There was more than one occasion growing up where one of my friends had stayed at our house for a week or more to avoid going home.

And now she was sick. A shell of her former self. Incapable of fully taking care of herself. It was why I took a sabbatical from my tenured professor job in a much nicer city two hours away and moved back to my hometown. I would stay with her and care for her until the end. I refused to stick her in some care facility staffed by minimum wage employees.

Hange gave me one more pat on the shoulder before she finally left the room. 

I sat down at my desk and ran my fingers through my hair as I leaned back in my chair. This was going to be a long school year.

\-----

>Levi<

I opted to stay in my classroom for lunch instead of going to the teacher's lounge or cafeteria. I knew I'd eventually have to see my fellow teachers, but for now I was going to avoid them. 

The bell signaling the end of the school day rang. I dismissed my class and started packing up my things. It was the first day of school, so all I really did in all my classes was hand out syllabi and textbooks. Tomorrow the real work would start.

I was in the process of putting my bag in the trunk of my car when I heard yelling nearby. It wasn't screaming like someone getting hurt, but it also wasn't friendly banter. It was more like arguing leading up to a fight. I sighed and closed the trunk. I really just wanted to go home and shower, but now I had to break up a fight between some hormone-fueled teenagers. It was only the first day of school, what could have possibly already happened to result in a fight? 

"Stupid fucking brats keeping me here longer than I want. I'm giving every single one of them a month of detention, even the ones that aren't fighting," I grumbled under my breath as I rolled up the sleeves of my dress shirt. The last thing I needed or wanted was some stupid teenager's blood on my clothes. The shouts were getting louder now, so I knew I was heading in the right direction. Just around the next corner was an open field that was meant to act as overflow parking during football games. Back when I was a student here, though, it mostly played home to after school fights. 

I rounded the corner, pissed off and ready to chew out some students, but stopped when I saw what was happening. Two adults stood at one end of the open field while a group of students stood scattered over the rest of the field. The students were wearing football pads and helmets. The adults were the ones doing all the yelling.

"-worst punter known to man!" The man was yelling at the shorter woman next to him.

"-never helping you coach again!" She was simultaneously yelling back at him.

Both of them were waving their arms in the air while the students watched on. The students seemed unfazed, like this was a pretty common occurrence. Then again, for these two, this was a pretty common occurrence. I would know. These two were old classmates of mine - Mike and Kat Zacharias. Brother and sister who spent about 80% of their time competing against each other and arguing. They had the same dirty blonde hair and light blue eyes, but Kat was considerably smaller than her older brother.

With another sigh, I approached and shouted, "Oi! Keep it down!"

Everyone on the field looked up and watched me approach. Kat watched with her mouth hanging open and Mike had a scowl on his face. 

"I had hoped Erwin was joking when he said you were back," Mike said once I had stopped walking, making sure to leave a few feet of space between us.

"Mike," I greeted with a shallow nod of my head. I turned to Kat and gave a similar nod, though my voice was softer as I greeted her, "Kat."

"Heartless bastard," Kat answered in a mock-friendly tone as she gave her own nod.

"I suppose I deserve that," I answered.

"I thought you were going to teach engineering at MIT and never see this God forsaken hick town again?" Kat practically spat at me.

I did my best not to flinch at what she said. After all, that was almost word-for-word what I'd said to her ten years ago right before I moved away and cut off all contact with everyone but Mom. "I suppose I deserve that, too."

"What do you want, Levi? We're busy," Mike said with a sweep of his hand back toward the crowd of students who were all silently watching the awkward exchange.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked, ignoring Mike's question.

Kat rolled her eyes and turned around to pick up the football that was on the ground next to her. "Warming up the team by having them return punts."

"Trying to, at least," Mike said as he turned to look at his younger sister. "If Kat could actually punt correctly."

"Fuck you, Swamp Ape," Kat hissed low enough that the students couldn't hear her. 

I tried my best to hide my smirk as I walked off the field and stood along the edge to watch. I didn't realize how much I had missed the famous Zacharias bickering.

I watched as Kat angrily held the ball in front of her, took one long stride, and then kicked the absolute hell out of it. 

"What was that shit? You're at least five yards short," Mike snapped.

I wasn't surprised as I watched the football soar effortlessly through the air and land right in the arms of one of the students. I remember how strong Kat's legs were. They had always been my favorite thing about her.

"Ha!" She barked in her brother's face. "Five yards short, he says."

My eyes drifted down to her bare legs. She was wearing volleyball shorts and I let my gaze shamelessly linger on her butt and thighs for a few seconds. She looked like she was in even better shape than when we were teenagers.

I had to turn and walk away. I'd long ago lost the right to look at and think of her like that. I left them to their arguing and went back to my car.

\-----

>Levi<

"I'm home," I called as I opened the front door. 

"Hey," Mom responded with a smile as she watched me from the couch.

"Mikasa's not home yet?" I asked as I removed my shoes. My younger sister had been in class earlier, but her car wasn't in the driveway just now when I got home.

"No she's out with Eren and Armin. How was your first day?"

I shrugged as I entered the living room. "Fine enough I guess. Erwin and Hange say hi."

"I haven't seen those two in years. You'll have to invite them over for dinner soon," she said as she scooted over on the couch to make room for me.

Before I sat down, I took her empty glass from the coffee table and refilled it with water. I poured myself two fingers of bourbon before taking both drinks back to the living room and sitting down.

"Mike and Kat are working there, too," I said after taking a sip of my drink. 

"Yes, I know. Kat was Mikasa's Biology teacher last year. And I remember reading in the sports section of the local paper that Mike was the head football coach now," she responded and sipped her water. "How are they?"

"Same old Mike and Kat."

"Foul-mouthed and angry?" She asked with a small grin.

I just smirked in response.

"Did you get to meet her daughter?" She asked.

"Whose daughter?"

"Kat's."

I nearly choked on my bourbon. "She has a daughter?"

Mom looked at me with a very serious expression on her face. "Yes. Nine or ten years old. She looks just like Kat, except she's got gray eyes."


	2. Chapter 2

>Levi<

I spent the next two weeks doing my best to get Kat on her own so that I could talk to her. I needed to know about her daughter. Our daughter.

First I tried nonchalantly asking Erwin and Hange about the girl, but they both just kept asking why I wanted to know about her. Like they couldn't fucking figure it out on their own.

I finally got my chance early one morning before school. The marching band had my usual parking area roped off for practice so I had to park over by the baseball field. As I was getting out of my car, I heard some odd noises coming from near the field. A deep 'thwump' followed a few seconds later by a high pitched 'ting'.

I had to listen a few times before I realized it was the batting cage. Who the hell was using the batting cage at six in the morning? Did a student break into it?

I walked around the corner and spotted someone standing outside the cage leaning on the chain link fence. Their back was facing me, but I could still tell that it was Kat. She was dressed in her typical work outfit: a silky blouse, a tight pencil skirt, and open toed wedges. Fuck she looked so good. I don't know how any of her male students paid attention in her class. Who am I kidding, none of them paid attention.

I seized the opportunity while the parking lot was still empty and approached. I was just getting ready to call her name when I realized she was talking to whoever was in the cage.

"-follow through. You're holding back and not getting enough power behind your swings."

So she was coaching someone. But why so early in the morning? And why baseball? She was the girl's volleyball coach, not the baseball or softball coach. I was standing right behind her now - she still hadn't noticed me yet.

I heard a small voice answer, "I know, Mom, but I feel like I'm going to fall over if I follow through any more than that."

I peaked around Kat's shoulder and saw a tiny little girl in a baseball helmet holding a little aluminum bat and looking up at Kat. Her long dirty blonde hair was sticking out from under her helmet and tied back in a loose ponytail. Her cheeks were flushed with effort. She looked younger than nine, but looking young and being small for her age was something she got from both me and Kat. 

Fuck she's the cutest kid I've ever seen.

"Widen your stance and drop your butt down lower," I said to her.

Kat nearly jumped out of her skin as she clutched her chest and spun around to look at me.

I ignored her as I kept talking to the little girl who was now looking up at me. 

Those gray eyes… 

"It lowers your center of gravity and helps you keep your balance on your follow through," I finished explaining.

"Okay I'll try it," she responded and reached up to adjust her helmet before turning back and squatting down more into her batter stance. 

God damn it she's adorable. 

I finally looked over at Kat and saw that she was glaring at me. I gave her a passive expression in response. We just stared at each other for a few seconds as there was another 'thwump' of a ball being shot out followed by the 'ting' of the ball coming into contact with the bat.

"Wow that helped a lot. Thanks Mister!" The girl yelled at me before turning back to her batting practice.

I couldn't help but grin smugly at Kat as her glare deepened.

"You got a minute?" I asked her. "I wanted to ask you about something." My eyes quickly flicked over to the girl before coming back to meet Kat's eyes.

Kat sighed and turned to her daughter. "Holly, keep practicing. I'll be back in a minute."

"Okay Mom!" Holly responded without turning around.

We walked away until we were out of Holly's earshot but still close enough to see her.

"So, she's adorable," I said.

"Thanks," Kat muttered.

"How old is she?"

Kat avoided my eyes as she picked up a piece of her hair and became abnormally interested in her split ends.

"Kat," I said a little lower.

"She turned nine in February."

I let a few seconds pass in silence as I did the math in my head, counting 40 weeks back from February.

"When were you planning on telling me?" I finally asked.

"Telling you what?" Kat responded.

I took a step closer and hissed, "Don't play stupid, Kat. Our daughter."

Kat scowled and took a step back. "What makes you think she's yours?"

"She was born in February nine years ago. That means she was probably conceived some time in May or June ten years ago. I left town in June ten years ago."

Kat didn't respond.

"Unless you were cheating on-"

She didn't even let me finish as she slapped me. Fuck she could still hit like a semi truck.

She was in my face growling at me before I even had a chance to recover. "Don't you dare accuse me of being unfaithful. You ruined me, Levi. After you left, I spent six weeks drowning my sorrows in liquor and sleeping with every guy who looked like you to try and fill the void you left behind. It was fucking pathetic and I look back on that time of my life in disgust." 

She took a step back from me and continued at something closer to her normal voice. "I got my shit together when I found out I was pregnant. So maybe she's yours, but maybe not. You're not the only jackass with gray eyes in this town."

An awkward silence settled as I tried to rub some feeling back into the half of my face where she had slapped me. "You still could have told me it was a possibility."

She scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "What, so you could send us $5 in child support every month and never see her? You were a college freshman living three states away."

It was my turn to get angry now. "How dare you. You know how I feel about deadbeats." She knew my dad left us right after Mikasa was born. She knew I would never do the same thing - I had told her as much about a thousand times when we were growing up together. If I ever had a family, they would always be my first priority.

"Levi, think about it from my perspective," she said with a sigh. "The man I loved, the man I gave my heart and soul and body to, the man I thought I was going to marry and grow old with, suddenly decided one day that he didn't want me anymore. He told me he was too good for me and left town the next day, never to be heard from again. Would you think even for a second that he was willing to throw away his entire future to come back home and raise a child that was maybe his?"

My frown only got deeper the more she talked. I had no idea my leaving affected her that much. But, then again, how would I have known? I never reached out to anyone back home. I never asked my mom to keep me updated on my old friends. As far as they were concerned, I dropped off the face of the Earth. And I left the only girl I ever loved to raise a baby on her own.

"I never said I was too good for you," was all I could think to say.

"You said you were too good for this town. That's basically the same thing," she responded.

I didn't get a chance to respond as her smart watch started beeping. She looked down at it and swiped away the alarm that was displayed on the screen. She cleared her throat and spoke, "I have to get Holly to school." And then she walked away. 

I watched as she retrieved Holly from the batting cage and led her away. 

All I could do was shake my head, mutter some expletives, and head into the school. I was going to fix this. I had to.

\-----

>Kat<

I was going to have to do my best to ignore and avoid Levi. It's wrong and not the appropriate way to act, but fuck if I can’t keep my emotions from getting the best of me.

I knew he was Holly’s father. I wasn’t lying when I said I slept with any guy who looked like Levi after he left, but it was always safe. I even doubled and tripled up on contraceptives with those guys specifically to keep myself from getting pregnant. Condoms, diaphragms, spermicidal lube, and sometimes even the morning after pill if I had the extra money. When Levi was still here, I didn’t really care about being safe because we’d already decided that we wanted to get married and have kids one day. But after he left, the last thing I needed was to be an unwed teenage mother.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what ended up happening. I didn’t tell him at first because I was terrified of how he would react. I knew he would just break my heart again by coldly telling me he wanted nothing to do with me or the baby. Or worse, he would accuse me of lying about the pregnancy in a desperate attempt to get him to come back home. In my delicate emotional state, I wasn’t going to put myself through that.

As my due date approached, my parents and Mike insisted that I needed to tell him and that he needed to be there for the birth of his child, but I still couldn’t handle it. I begged them not to tell him, saying that I would tell him eventually. 

Before I knew it, Holly was turning two and I still hadn’t told Levi. My parents and Mike were starting to get angry with me, but by then I felt like the situation would be even worse. It had been so long at this point, there was no way Levi would want anything to do with us. It had been almost three years since he left, after all - he would surely ask how he could know for certain that he was the dad.

That’s when it dawned on me - the awful lie that I would start telling to avoid the uncomfortable truth. I would just say that I didn’t know who the father was. My family and friends didn’t know that I fell off the deep end after Levi left, so I could just tell them that I was ashamed and embarrassed to tell them earlier about all the strange men and drunken one night stands. They would understand. They would be disappointed, but they would understand why I hadn’t told them sooner. And then they would stop insisting that I tell Levi. They would stop threatening to find him themselves and tell him.

I never thought the bastard would actually move back to town. I had heard his mom was sick, but I just assumed Kenny would come take care of her. I should have known better, of course. Levi would never trust his uncle to properly take care of Kuchel.

And now I was stuck in this awful lie. Levi was back, and he knew about Holly, and he was certain he was her father, and I had just lied to his face about it. Or, mostly lied. I didn’t outright say ‘you’re not her father’, but I may as well have.

Fucking shit.

“Hey Mom?” Holly asked me from the passenger seat.

I blinked. Had I been zoned out the whole time I was driving her to school?

“Yes Honey?” I answered.

“Who was that guy?” She asked.

I gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles. “That was Mr. Levi.”

“Oh. Is he a new teacher?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. Is he the new baseball coach?”

“No.”

“Oh.” She thought for a moment. “He seems really nice.”

I didn’t respond.

“And he’s kind of cute,” she said with a blush.

Oh fuck. Please no. I need to change the subject. “Eld’s going to pick you up later and bring you home, okay?”

“But I thought we were going to do more batting practice this afternoon?”

“Not today. I just remembered that I have to help Uncle Mike after school.” Plus I don’t need you developing a crush on your goddamn father. 

“Oh.” Was all she said in response.

We were at her school now. I leaned over and kissed the top of her head as she undid her seatbelt. We said our goodbyes and she got out to walk up to the school.

I texted Eld and asked if he could pick up Holly from school and take her home. I sighed and leaned back in the driver’s seat to give myself a moment to think. 

That was another layer of shit on the shit pile: Eld. One of our English teachers. He was the friend who’d always pined after me in high school and had never really forgiven me for choosing Levi over him. We reconnected in college and started dating, and he was wonderful with Holly. We got together six years ago and he was the only father she’d ever known.

But he wasn’t her father. And I had no real desire to marry him, despite him telling me numerous times that he would love nothing more than to marry me and adopt Holly as his own. He was the only one that knew the truth and he still wanted to be with me despite it. I had told him when we first started dating that Levi was Holly’s father, but he didn’t care. If anything he seemed a bit smug about it, like he would show that he’d been the right one for me all along. Like a constant, silent ‘I told you so’.

I opened my eyes, turned up the radio loud enough to drown out my own thoughts, and drove back to the high school. I needed to find Mike and ask his advice.

No wait, not Mike. He wouldn’t be any god damn help - he would just get mad that I had lied to him all these years.

I needed a somewhat neutral party. Someone that had known Levi and I back in school, but wasn’t necessarily super close with either of us and would be able to view this fuckery from a third perspective.

But who? 

Not Erwin, he was Levi’s best friend in school. He wouldn’t understand.

Not Eld, he would just tell me to keep up the lie and never tell Levi or Holly. That’s what would be easiest for him. I know that somewhere in the back of his mind he’s going to have this insecurity that I’m going to leave him and go back to Levi.

Kuchel had always been so nice to me growing up and always listened without judging me, but this was her son and her grandchild. She could never truly be impartial.

With a sigh, I realized that it was going to have to be Hange. She’d always annoyed the hell out of both of us growing up so we were never super close friends with her, but she still knew us well. And she still annoyed the hell out of me now, and as far as I know Levi didn’t stay in contact with her. Hopefully she wouldn’t be biased in either direction.

Fingers crossed.

\----

>Kat<

I still had about half an hour before classes were set to start, so I went to Hange's office. Her door was open, so I knocked on the open door frame and stood in the doorway.

"Morning Kat, fancy seeing you here," she said.

"Morning. Do you have a few minutes? I need your advice on something."

"I was actually just heading out for bus duty, but you're welcome to join me."

I thought about it for a second. This wasn't really something I wanted to discuss in public, but it's not like any adult would be close enough to overhear. And the students wouldn't know what we were talking about. As long as we kept our voices down it should be fine.

I explained everything as we made the short trip from her office out to where the buses were starting to arrive. Well, mostly everything. I didn't throw in all the emotional crap, just the cold hard facts. 

"I don't understand," she said.

"Which part?" I asked.

"The part about you needing advice. What do you need advice on?"

"Well…" I said as I chewed on my lip a little. "What should I do?"

"What should you do?" She repeated quietly. "You tell Levi the truth! That's what you do!"

The crowd of students around us all jumped and stared at us. This was certainly the first time they had ever heard their vice principal raise her voice.

"Shhh!" I said and clapped my hand over her mouth.

She glared at me.

"Tell Levi the truth about what?" A feminine voice asked from behind us.

I froze and stared wide-eyed at Hange. I knew that voice. 

Mikasa.

I gulped, took a deep breath, removed my hand from Hange's mouth, and slowly turned to face my former student.

I did my best to fake a smile as I said, "Morning Mikasa. I didn't know you rode the bus."

Her expression was bland as she responded. "I always meet Eren and Armin here in the morning. What do you need to tell Levi?"

"Who needs to tell me what?" Levi asked as he approached from the side.

I groaned and put my face in my hands. Fuck, am I goddamn Ackerman magnet today?

"Levi, you're not on bus duty today," was all I could think to say.

"I know, I needed to get Hange's advice on something. Who needs to tell me what?" 

I looked up at him. He was glaring at me. Fuck, he knows.

I looked at Mikasa. She had her arms crossed over her chest, but otherwise she looked pretty neutral. I never could figure out what she was thinking.

I looked at Hange. But she wasn't there. Bitch! She abandoned me!

I looked back at Levi. He was still glaring, and now he had his arms crossed over his chest and was impatiently tapping his foot. 

I sighed. "I think you figured it out already."

"Come on, let's go to your room. It's closer than mine."

The walk to my room was awkward. I didn’t know what to say, and Levi looked like he was purposefully keeping quiet. He opened the door and walked in first, I followed behind and left the door propped open. Now that students were on campus, I wasn’t supposed to close my door. Luckily, my room was shaped in such a way that there was a semi-hallway leading from the door to the room itself. This hallway was elongated even further by the huge cabinet of lab supplies that took up an entire wall of the room. As long as we sat in the back corner, we would get plenty of warning that someone was entering the room and could therefore cut our conversation short.

I dropped my bag at my desk and led him to the back corner where we sat next to each other at one of the lab benches.

“Were you ever going to tell me?” He asked, finally breaking the silence.

I fiddled with my fingers. “Probably.”

“What do you mean ‘Probably’?”

“I mean I don’t fucking know, Levi!” I caught myself shouting and slapped my hand on my forehead. It may be impossible to see us from the hallway, but we could still be heard. 

When I spoke again, I made sure my voice was much quieter. “I didn’t think I would ever see you again, so I never really thought about it before.”

He sighed and combed a hand through his hair. “You know, it makes me feel like a huge piece of shit to know you didn’t trust me enough to tell me in the beginning.”

I didn’t say anything.

“I mean, fuck. If I’d known I could have done something. Instead I left you to raise our daughter by yourself.”

I started fiddling with my fingers again and chewed on my lip. “I mean, I didn’t do it completely by myself.”

“Well yeah I’m sure you had your parents and Mike, but I’m talking about an actual father figure in her life.”

“Yeah… I know what you meant.”

He looked at me, eyes squinted. “What do you mean?”

As if summoned to appear at the worst possible time, I heard a familiar voice call, “Hey Babe!” from the hallway.

Levi’s head snapped towards the door as I buried my face in my hands.

Eld came walking in, talking as he entered. We didn’t see him for a few seconds, but we could definitely hear him. “Sorry I didn’t answer your text earlier. I’ll pick up Holly from school. Do you want me to pick up dinner on my way ho…” He trailed off as he fully entered the room and saw Levi and I sitting in the back of the room.

“Kat?” He asked.

“Yes Eld?” I said quietly.

“Why are you and Levi sitting alone in your classroom?"

All I could do was sigh and sink back into my chair. "I was telling him about Holly." I could smell the testosterone building in the room. Eld and Levi had been friends until Levi and I got together in our Junior year. Ever since then, they had hated each other.

"Kat?" Levi asked.

"Yes Levi?" I answered.

"Why is this tool picking up my daughter from school and bringing her home?"

Neither of them were looking at me, they were too busy glaring at each other. I tilted my head back to face the ceiling and closed my eyes. "Eld and I are together."

"That's right." I could hear the smug grin in Eld's voice. "I'm the one who's actually been there for the last six years."

"Eld," I warned.

"I can promise it's not by my choice," Levi said as he stood.

"Levi," I warned again. I knew it was futile at this point. It's like they had forgotten I was there at all.

A few tense, thick moments of silence passed as the two of them just continued glaring at each other.

Finally, Eld smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. I knew that look. That was his 'I'm about to win this argument' look.

"She calls me Dad."

"Eld!" I shrieked. "You need to leave. Go to your classroom and cool down. I'll see you at lunch."

The smug look didn't drop from his face as he turned around and left my room.

As soon as he was out of sight, Levi spun around and slammed his hand down on the table in front of me. "You let her call him Dad?"

"No!" I shouted in a much more disgusted tone than I anticipated.

He seemed a bit taken aback by that. I was too, but I tried not to let it show.

I continued in a quieter voice. "I don't know why he said that. I've never heard her call him Dad."

Levi scoffed and sat back down again. After a moment, he sighed. "When did you two get together?"

"College. Dating is hard as a 20-year-old single mom, but he didn't care."

"Do you love him?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"Do you?" He pushed.

"You have no right asking me that."

"I notice you're not answering."

I groaned. "Yes, Levi. I love him. I wouldn't still be with him if I didn't."

"Are you guys getting married?"

"Why? Are you jealous?"

"Tch. I have a right to know the men who will be in my daughter's life."

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "No we're not going to get married."

I could see his smirk in my peripheral vision. I would never tell him the full truth - that at this point I was mostly with Eld out of convenience and familiarity, not because I saw a real future with him. I would never tell him that I thought I had settled.

"I figured you would end up with Erwin," Levi said after a few moments of silence.

"Are you joking?" I asked.

"No."

"First of all, Erwin never would have dated me because he's your best friend and I'm sure he strictly adheres to the bro code. Second of all, Erwin is the perfect gentleman who would have treated me like a princess and fuck that."

He grinned. "Mom wants me to invite Erwin and Hange to dinner this weekend. I want you and Holly to come, too."

I really didn't want to. I wasn't sure I could face Kuchel. With Levi, I had an excuse not to tell him before now: he wasn't around. A flimsy excuse, but still an excuse. But Kuchel? She had been my second mom growing up. She was still living in the same house Levi grew up in. And I never told her about her granddaughter. 

"I don't want your mom to hate me," I admitted quietly.

"Kat, I don't think my mom could ever hate you. I'm pretty sure she was ready to disown me when I told her I left you."

I couldn't help but laugh. "She always did say I was her favorite."

"Yeah she's always loved you." He paused for a heartbeat before adding, "I've always loved you."

My grin dropped. "It's time for you to leave."

With a sigh, he pushed himself up out of his chair. He knew he crossed a line. "You're right. I'll see you later Kat."

Bastard.

I got out my phone and texted Eld to let him know that I would pick up Holly from school. She and I needed to have a very difficult conversation.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm maybe late updating this? Who knows, my days are all jacked up lately.

>Levi<

I thought Mom was going to have a heart attack when I told her about Holly. She'd had her suspicions of course - if not, she never would have mentioned Holly to me in the first place - but hearing it confirmed sent her over the moon. She'd always wanted grandkids, and to find out she had one by Kat? It was like a dream come true for her. I wasn't kidding when I told Kat that Mom always loved her. I'm certain there were times growing up where she wished Kat was her child instead of me.

Over the rest of the week, I took every chance I could to spend time with Holly. I found out that the batting practice she and Kat had most mornings was in preparation for city baseball tryouts, so I made sure I was there to give advice when I could. And when I couldn't give advice, I just told her how well she was doing and how much she was improving. 

After Holly got out of school everyday, Kat picked her up and brought her to the high school so that I could watch her while Kat did whatever she needed to do. Sometimes we sat in my classroom and she did her homework while I graded papers. Sometimes we bumped the volleyball back and forth on the sidelines of Kat's team practice. Sometimes we watched the football team practice as I explained the game to her. Sometimes we tossed a baseball back and forth. Sometimes we went with Kat and got food somewhere and, for just an hour or two, I could pretend that we were a family.

The first day had been awkward. Holly wasn't sure what to think of me and I had no clue what I was doing. But by the second day we'd warmed up to each other enough that Kat could leave us by ourselves. By Friday afternoon, Holly was actually excited to come to Mom's house for dinner the next night.

"Mom, can I go over early and help make dinner?" Holly asked as the two of them were getting ready to leave campus on Friday. The three of us were standing in my classroom.

"Sorry Honey I can't take you early. We have a game tomorrow and I won't have time," Kat answered.

"Oh. Can I stay with them tonight? Then you don't have to worry about giving me a ride?"

Kat looked at me with a cocked eyebrow, asking if it was okay.

I had to take a moment to collect myself before I could answer. It felt like my heart was melting. Holly wanted to spend more time with me. "Not tonight brat. You don't have any clothes or anything packed."

"Oh." Holly looked down at her feet, obviously disappointed.

"I tell you what, though, I'll come pick you up in the morning and we can hang out all day. Then you can stay over tomorrow night after dinner."

I could see Kat trying to hide her smile as Holly broke out in the widest grin I'd ever seen. It looked like her face was about to split in half. Holly ran over and nearly tackled me as she wrapped her arms around my waist and buried her face in my stomach. "Yeah let's do that! I'll pack a bag tonight and I'll call you in the morning when I'm ready for you to pick me up!"

I chuckled a little as I hugged her back. "That's a good plan. I'll see you in the morning."

She stepped back and gave me another grin before turning and running off yelling, "Bye Dad!" over her shoulder.

And then my heart became a complete puddle in my chest. I looked back at Kat. She had her hand covering her mouth and tears welling up in her eyes. I held my arms open and she rushed into them, wrapping her arms around my chest and hiding her face in my shoulder. I locked my arms around her shoulders and pulled her tighter against me. 

"I'm so sorry Levi."

"For what?" I mumbled into the top of her head.

"For not telling you sooner. I should have known you would do the right thing. And now you missed out on nine years of her life because I was being stupid."

"No reason to dwell on it. Shit happens. Besides, I'm gonna be around for the next fifty years of her life, so I'll be able to make up for lost time."

She giggled lightly and nuzzled into my shoulder more. I leaned down just enough to plant a kiss on her temple. The only thing that could make this moment any better was if she was with me instead of that fuck stick Eld.

\-----

>Kat<

The next morning, I was woken up by Holly pounding loudly on my bedroom door.

"What?" I groggily yelled at her.

"I just called Dad and he's on his way!"

I lifted my head just enough to look out the window. It was barely light outside. I picked up my phone and saw it was only 6am. "Holly did you freaking sleep last night?"

"Barely!" She quickly answered before I heard her running footsteps retreating down the hall.

I groaned and flopped back down onto the mattress. Eld rolled over and draped an arm over my waist before he planted a few kisses on my shoulder blades. "It won't be so bad, you know. It means we'll have the house to ourselves all day," he said as his mouth moved up to the back of my neck.

I sighed and sat up, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. "Yeah, maybe."

"Maybe? Just maybe?" He asked as he sat up. "Kat what's wrong?" I'd never been one to turn down a day of uninterrupted adult time.

"Nothing," I lied. "I'm just half asleep still. The last thing on my mind is sex."

The truth was that I still hadn't forgiven him for telling Levi that Holly called him Dad. That night we had fought and I told him I wanted him to be civil toward Levi. Not for me, but for Holly. He had been convinced that I "took Levi's side", whatever that fucking meant, and things had been tense between us ever since.

He seemed unconvinced at my answer, but he didn't say anything. We got out of bed, got dressed, and went into the kitchen to make breakfast. 

Holly was sitting anxiously at the dining room table with three duffle bags stacked up by the front door.

"You planning on moving in over there?" I asked her sarcastically. It was only one day and one night, why did she need so much stuff?

"No I just packed some different stuff since I don't know what we're gonna be doing. And I'm bringing some other stuff to show Dad. And some books in case I can't sleep tonight. And my baseball stuff."

I couldn't help but smile at how excited she was. I looked over at Eld and saw him glaring down at the coffee pot.

I elbowed him lightly and whispered, "What's wrong?"

"Since when does she call him Dad?" He snapped.

I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the eggs I was cooking. "She did it for the first time yesterday."

"And you didn't think to tell me?"

I stopped what I was doing and stared at him. "No? Why would I?"

He started to answer, but was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Holly screeched just a little and jumped up, running to the door and flinging it open. Levi stood on the other side looking half asleep. He had at least gotten dressed in jeans and a t-shirt before coming over. I was expecting him to still be in his pajamas. Holly threw herself at him in a bear hug.

He hugged her back and patted the top of her head. "Morning brat. Just so you know, we're not doing this so early in the morning next time."

"Deal!" Holly let him go and stepped back into the house. "I just need to get my shoes on." She took off running back to her room.

Levi looked up at Eld and me in the kitchen and gave a little wave. "Morning."

I responded in kind. Eld just scoffed. I elbowed him in the ribs and gave him the stink eye.

"Any big plans for the day?" Levi asked us.

I had also asked Levi to please put aside any hostilities he had towards Eld, at least when Holly was around. So far he'd been doing better than I expected.

"Oh yeah we've got something planned all right," Eld said as he walked up behind me and wrapped one arm around my waist while his free hand came up to grope my breast through my t-shirt. He was leaning in to nibble on my ear.

"Eld!" My face turned crimson and I yanked myself out of his arms and shoved him away from me. "I can't believe you! What if Holly saw you just now?" How inappropriate could you get? He'd never done anything like that before. At least not where others could see.

Eld threw his hands up in the air like he didn't understand why I was upset. I turned back to the stove and plated the eggs I was cooking. I didn’t look at Levi. I couldn’t. That was fucking embarrassing.

"Okay I'm ready to go," Holly said as she walked back down the hall.

"Let's go then," Levi said as he picked up two of her three bags. "Oi, you planning on moving in, brat?"

Holly just laughed and came into the kitchen to hug me and Eld. "Bye Mom. Bye Eld. Love you guys."

"Love you too, I'll see you tonight!" I called after her, but she had already grabbed her last bag and was out the door.

Levi smirked and shook his head. "I'll text you later," he said to me as he started pulling the front door shut behind him. "See you later Kat. Bye Eld."

"Bye Levi," I said as the door clicked shut.

"Bye Levi," Eld said in a mocking voice.

“Okay, what is your major malfunction?”

“You’ve never told Holly to call me Dad,” he snapped.

I had to take a moment to process what he said. That’s what he was mad about? No way, there had to be more. “Okay so one: I didn’t tell Holly to call anyone anything. She did it on her own. And two: he’s her goddamn father. Why wouldn’t she call him Dad?”

“Because I’m the one who’s been here. I was the one who picked up all the pieces after he left. I’m the one who bought a house big enough for the three of us. I’m the one who’s going to marry you and take care of you two,” he argued.

“Eld, I appreciate everything you’ve done for us over the years, I really do. You’re a wonderful man. But I don’t remember ever asking you to buy this house. And I sure as hell don’t remember getting engaged to you.” I was doing my best to keep my voice steady.

“Do you love me?” He asked.

“What?”

“Do. You. Love. Me?”

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. “Of course I do, Eld.”

“Then marry me.”

“What?”

He stepped forward into my personal space and stared down at me. “Marry me.”

I tried to take a step back, but I was caught by the edge of the kitchen counter. “Eld, we talked about this before. I don’t feel like it’s a good time right now.”

“When is a good time?” He hissed and planted his hands on the counter on either side of me, trapping me.

I avoided his eyes. “I don’t know. Just… not right now.”

“Is there ever going to be a good time?”

Fuck. I sighed. “I don’t know.”

He stared at me for a little longer, trying to force me to look up at him, but I couldn’t. I knew we were eventually going to have to have this conversation, but I never imagined it would be like this. I imagined it would be like all of our other conversations and disagreements - calm, mature, understanding. Not with me pinned against the counter and a bunch of unpleasant energy in the air.

He eventually let out a breath of air and stepped back from me. “Get out.”

I snapped my eyes up to his. “What?”

“You heard me. Get your shit and get out.”

“Where am I supposed to go?”

“Go stay with Levi. You’ve got one foot in his bed already.”

“Is that what this is about? You think I want to be with him?”

“I don’t think. I know.” He turned and headed for the front door. As he put on his shoes and grabbed his keys, he said, “I’m going out for an hour. When I get back, you better be gone.” He opened the door, walked out, and slammed it shut behind him.

I groaned and leaned back, hitting my head on the kitchen cabinets a few times in frustration. When I was done with that, I threw away the cold, uneaten eggs and went to pack a suitcase. Eld just needed some space and time to think. He would realize he was being an ass and we would get over this bump. It wasn't going to take more than a day or two, so I packed just enough stuff to get me through the weekend.

I got dressed for the volleyball game, put my suitcase in the back seat of my car, and left. I'd have time later to call the motel in town and reserve a room. I didn't need to bother my parents asking if I could stay with them. They'd just have a bunch of questions. Besides, they had downsized to a much smaller house after Mike and I moved out so there wasn't enough room for me. And I wasn't going to stay with Mike because he and Nanaba had a newborn they were busy taking care of.

I started my car, backed out of the driveway, and headed toward the school.

\-----

>Kat<

"-and then we played catch and then we made cookies and then we ate lunch and then we went to the park and on the way home we went grocery shopping and then I took a shower and then we made dinner…"

I nodded along to Holly's fast rambling about her day with Levi. I had come over a little early in case Levi needed a break, but he seemed like he was still pretty sane. Dinner was almost ready and Erwin and Hange were arriving soon.

"Made cookies, huh?" I asked as I looked over at Levi. "I don't remember your dad liking sweets that much."

"Tch. She made them with Grandma," he said without turning away from the stove.

"Oh man Grandma's cookies are the best," I told Holly. "I used to ask her to make them for me all the time." It was true. All of Kuchel's baking was phenomenal.

Holly nodded. "Yeah but we ate them all so we'll have to make some more tomorrow for you Mom."

"We'll see," I said with a grin. I had a feeling Kuchel was going to be exhausted after all the excitement today.

Holly ran off, leaving Levi and I in the kitchen. I was sitting at the island while he cooked. Currently he had his back to me and was stirring something. It wasn't intentional, but my eyes drifted from the back of his head down his back to his ass. I remembered him always wearing baggy, unflattering clothes in high school, but in the past ten years he'd obviously learned how to properly dress himself. He was just wearing a t-shirt and jeans, but they fit him perfectly and showed off all the muscle he'd put on since I last saw him. I wondered how he looked these days without a shirt on.

He turned around and I snapped my eyes back up to his face. A smirk spread across his face as he picked up his teacup and took a drink.

"What?" I asked.

"You always bite your lip when you watch people cook?"

My mouth dropped open like some kind of idiot while a blush spread across my face. "I… I was not! Stop teasing me." I put my face in my hands.

Before I could do anything else to embarrass myself, the doorbell rang.

"Oh boy that must be Erwin and Hange, I'll get it!" I blurted and stood quickly to go to the door. 

\----

>Kat<

Dinner was pretty uneventful. Kuchel had to excuse herself right after she finished eating because she was tired and ready for bed. She apologized profusely, but Erwin and Hange assured her it was no problem and they left soon after. They said they were meeting some friends for drinks anyway so this was a good time to leave. I decided to leave as well. It had already been dark for a few hours and I still needed to get a motel room, shower, and get to bed. 

Levi walked us all outside to our cars. He and I stood by my car waving goodbye to Erwin and Hange as they left. Once they were out of sight, I turned to Levi and leaned back against my car.

"Do you mind keeping Holly again tomorrow and maybe tomorrow night?" I asked.

"Why?" He asked a bit sharply. "Need that much alone time with Eld?"

I didn't justify his jab with an answer.

We stood in silence for a few seconds before he sighed and said, "Yeah I'll be happy to keep her. She packed enough shit to last her a month here so it's no problem."

"Thanks. It should be over in a day or two…"

He interrupted me. "What should be over in a day or two?"

I shut my mouth and looked away from him.

He moved to the side and peaked into my car. "Why do you have a suitcase?"

I sighed. "Eld and I are just having a disagreement right now so I'm gonna give him some space for a day or two. I'm sure he'll call tomorrow and apologize so it's not a big deal."

"Who are you staying with?"

"No one. I'm just gonna get a motel room."

"No you fucking won't. You'll stay here."

"No I fucking won't. It's crowded enough here already. Besides, if I stay here then I have to answer Holly's questions. And your mom's questions. And it's not a big deal."

"I'm not going to let you stay by yourself in some roach motel. How would I explain to Holly that I let her mom get raped or murdered?"

I couldn't help but snort out a laugh. "Don't you think that's a little dramatic?"

He just scowled at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. But if Eld asks, I stayed somewhere else."

"Why would he ask where you stayed? Why would he care?"

"Enough questions!" I snapped and opened my car to get my bag. 

I heard him growl in frustration but I ignored him. When I turned back around, he was already walking into the house.

\----

>Levi<

We came up with some stupid excuse as to why Kat was suddenly staying the night. Something about the three of us getting up early and going to the pool or something. Honestly I wasn't even paying attention. All I could focus on was the fact that Eld kicked Kat out. That son of a bitch made my daughter and her mother homeless. There was no reason for that.

I laid in bed fuming about it for hours after everyone else had already fallen asleep. Kat and Holly were sleeping in the guest room next to my room. What kind of man says he wants to marry a woman and adopt her daughter, but then kicks out that woman and her daughter with nowhere to go? 

Then again, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. This was Eld, after all. The "friend" who was really only ever friends with Kat in school because he wanted to get in her pants. The "friend" who had tried to tell every other guy at school that they needed to back off because Kat was his. The "friend" who completely lost his shit when he found out Kat and I were dating and tried to fight me. The "friend" who completely ghosted all of us afterwards and waited five years before weaseling his way back into Kat's life.

I sat up and swung my feet over the edge of the bed. I just needed to go talk to that piece of shit. Man to man. I got up and put on some clothes before I quietly opened my door and tiptoed down the hall to the front door. I was just finishing putting on my shoes when I heard a tired female voice call my name. I looked up and saw Kat standing in the hallway. She looked like she was barely awake.

"Go back to sleep," I whispered to her.

"Where are you going? It's midnight," she said as she took a step closer to me. 

I forgot how goddamn cute she was right after she woke up. Eld was an idiot for letting her go. I was an idiot for letting her go.

I let out a sigh. "Erwin called and asked if I could give him a ride. Said he drank a little too much."

"Oh." She yawned. "Okay then. Be careful."

I just nodded in response and watched as she turned around and walked back into the guest room. 

\----

>Levi<

I pulled up to Eld’s house and took a few seconds to breathe deep and try to calm myself down. Kat had mentioned before that Eld liked to stay up late on the weekends to catch up on his shows, and sure enough I could see the glow and flicker of the TV through the curtained living room window. From the street I could also see the kitchen light was on and someone was moving around in there. I turned off the engine and got out. It was now or never.

Eld was certainly confused and concerned about his doorbell being rung so late at night. I eventually heard the deadbolt unlock and watched as the door slowly swung open.

“Levi,” Eld greeted flatly.

“Eld," I responded in the same tone.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” He asked.

“I think you know why I’m here.”

He shook his head and huffed out a laugh with a smug look on his face. “I knew she would go to you.”

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. I wasn’t sure how to respond to that because I wasn’t sure what he meant by it. Did he think Kat and I were having an affair? He knew we were having dinner together, so maybe it was just a logical conclusion he drew? Was he glad about it? Upset about it?

“I’m not here to argue with you, Eld. I’m just here to say that you shouldn’t have put Kat and Holly in the middle of the problems you and I have. Holly’s just a kid, and now she’s homeless. Everything the two of us do should be for her, because everything we do affects her.”

"I know, that's why I've done what I've done." He paused so that he could let out a sigh. "Look, don't worry about it. I was a little angry this morning, but the situation is going to fix itself. Kat will be back in a day or two."

"So you're going to call her in the morning and apologize?" I asked.

"No, she's going to call me."

"Why's that?"

He smirked. "Well, she was supposed to start her period last week, and as far as I know she hasn't started yet."

I looked at him for a moment, trying to decipher what he meant. When I asked Kat before, she seemed pretty certain that she didn't want to marry this guy, so why would she want a kid with him?

I finally said, "I didn't realize you guys were trying to have kids."

"We aren't… Well… she's not."

I felt my eyebrow twitch. "Excuse me?"

"It's surprisingly easy to buy sugar pills online that look just like birth control pills." He shrugged. "She's on the fence about marriage, so I'm just giving her something to push her over the fence to my side."

"How long?" I snapped.

He scratched his stupid goatee. "Since the end of last school year, so three or four months." He must have seen the fury on my face because he cocked his eyebrow a little and asked, "What, you think she'll believe you if you tell her?"

I burst through the door and punched him so hard that he immediately dropped. Without hesitation, I climbed on top of him and continued my onslaught. I'm not sure exactly how many times I punched him. I think he may have managed one hit on me. Again, I'm not exactly sure. I can't remember the last time I flew into a blind rage like this.

I eventually stopped when he started begging me to do so, saying he'd do anything just please don't kill him. I grabbed two fistfuls of his bloody t-shirt and pulled his face up to mine. "You're going to call Kat first thing in the morning. You're going to tell her you're sorry and you realized you don't deserve her. You're going to take a vacation this week and stay the fuck out of this house while she packs all of her stuff and moves out. And then you're never going to talk to her again."

"Fuck, fine! Now let go of me you psychopath!"

I released the grip I had on the front of his shirt and stood up. 

"What do I tell Erwin when I request a last minute vacation for a week?" He asked.

"I don't know, say it's a family emergency. I don't give a fuck," I said as I walked out the front door and slammed it behind me.


	4. Chapter 4

>Kat<

Holly woke me up pretty early the next morning. She jumped off the bed we were sharing and ran into the bathroom so that she could change into her swimsuit. I didn't pack a swimsuit in my suitcase because… well… why would I? I would have to borrow one from Kuchel. I made the bed and tidied up the room before going out into the hallway. I never heard Levi come back home last night so I went and knocked on his bedroom door.

"Who is it?" He asked.

"Kat. Just checking that you made it home okay last night. Want me to make breakfast before we go?"

His door opened. "No I'll make breakfast. Are Holly and Mom up?"

I ignored his question as I reached out and grabbed his chin, turning his face to the side so that I could see his black eye better. "What did you do last night?" 

He winced and pulled away from me. "I must have gotten it at the bar last night."

I pushed him back into his room and followed, closing the door behind me. "You're getting in bar fights now?" I hissed out in a whisper. "How has your temper not gotten any better over the years?"

He clicked his tongue. "It's not like that. It was just a sucker punch from the bouncer as I was leaving with Erwin."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "So you were just minding your own business..."

"Yes."

"Being a good samaritan and picking up your drunk friend to take him home...."

"Yes."

"And the bouncer just punched you out of nowhere?"

"That's what I said."

"Mhm." I cocked an eyebrow at him, obviously completely unconvinced.

He scoffed. "Do you mind leaving? I need to change."

I just hummed again and left his room. I would get the truth out of him eventually.

I didn't get a chance to dwell on it as I heard my phone ringing from the living room. It was Eld.

\----

>Kat<

"Mind if I borrow a swimsuit?" I asked Kuchel as we were finishing up breakfast. Levi and Holly were doing the few dishes we'd made dirty.

"You didn't pack one?" She asked.

"No."

"Even though the whole plan of you staying the night was to go to the pool early in the morning?" She continued to prod.

I felt a nervous sweat building on the back of my neck. I hated these questions. "Yes."

Levi and Holly walked back into the dining room.

Kuchel pointed at Levi and then me. "You two, come with me."

"Tch," Levi scoffed. "Go watch some TV, brat. We'll leave soon."

Holly quickly responded, "Kay," and walked into the living room as the three of us went to Kuchel's room. I would have to remind Levi to rein in the ‘brats’ when we were in public. I was already getting questions from people because they didn’t realize that it was his term of endearment.

Kuchel shut and locked her bedroom door behind us before putting her hands on her hips and giving both of us her best mom glare. "I try not to pry into your personal lives. You're adults. But for fuck's sake you two, what is going on?"

I couldn't help but study all the fibers in the carpet around my feet while Levi looked off to the side inspecting the paint on the wall.

"Kat," she said.

"Yes?" I squeaked sheepishly.

"You say you planned on staying the night so that you could all go to the pool in the morning, but for some reason you didn't pack a swimsuit."

I rubbed the back of my damp neck. "You know how forgetful I can be."

"Mhm," she said unconvinced. "Is Eld going?"

"No."

"And why not?"

"He's busy," Levi snapped. I had pulled Levi aside earlier and explained the weird conversation I'd had with Eld on the phone. Eld said he was sorry about the way he acted and he realized last night that he didn’t deserve me. He was going out of town for a few days so that Holly and I could pack our things and find our own apartment. Even though we were officially over, I still didn't feel like answering a bunch of uncomfortable questions about what happened, so I asked Levi to keep the information between the two of us.

"So busy that he can't spend a few hours at the pool with his long-time girlfriend and her daughter?" Kuchel continued.

"Yes," I lied. "May I please get that swimsuit so I can change?"

She gave me a hard look for just another second before she went to her dresser and pulled out one of her bathing suits. I took it and walked into her bathroom to change.

\----

>Levi<

"And you," Mom turned to me as Kat walked away to the bathroom. "Who have you been fighting?"

I scoffed. "No one. Just a misunderstanding at the bar last night."

"And what were you doing at a bar?"

"Picking up Erwin."

"And that led to a fight?"

"A misunderstanding."

"Mhm," she hummed in that same unconvinced tone she had given Kat. “You know you can’t go get drunk and get in fights anymore. You have a child to care for now.”

“Tch. I know that,” I snapped. I should have picked some other lie to explain this black eye. This story just made me seem like an angry drunkard.

I was saved from more scrutiny by the bathroom door opening and Kat walking out. The swimsuit wasn't anything particularly sexy or revealing, but fuck if she didn't make it look like a set of lingerie. How could someone look so good in a plain one piece? She turned around and bent down to pick up her pajamas off the bathroom floor and I just stared. God I wanted to take a bite out of that ass. 

Mom brought me back to my senses by slapping me on the back of the head. When I looked back at her, she was glaring at me. She had definitely caught me leering.

"Kat hurry up, Holly's waiting for us," I said as I left the room.

\-----

>Kat<

Aside from a small disagreement at first regarding sunscreen usage, Holly seemed to be having a great time at the pool. Some of her friends from school were there so she was playing with them in the pool while Levi and I relaxed in some lounge chairs.

“Are you hoping those boys will spontaneously combust if you stare at them hard enough?” I asked without looking up from the book I was reading. In my peripheral vision, I could see the angry expression on Levi’s face as he watched Holly with her friends.

He scoffed. “Those boys are playing too rough with her.”

I rolled my eyes. “She hangs out with them a lot. I’ve heard her tell them before that they’re getting annoying and to leave her alone. She can handle herself.”

He sighed, but I saw his proud smirk. 

A moment of silence passed between us before he asked, “Where are you and Holly going to stay?”

I shrugged and put my book down. “We’ll stay at Eld's house for as long as we can while I look for an apartment. I don’t have the money saved up for a deposit and first and last month’s rent, so I’ll have to find a place that will work out a deal with me.”

“I’ll pay for that stuff, you just find a place you like.”

I looked at him. “Levi I can’t let you do that.”

“The other option is letting me buy you a house.”

“Okay I’m definitely not doing that. Don’t worry about it, you keep your money.”

“Just consider it back child support that I owe. I’m sure I owe a lot more than a few thousand dollars in rent and security deposits.”

I sighed. “It’s not like you did it on purpose, so don’t feel like you need to make up for it now.”

“Do you ever shut your mouth?” He asked in a flat tone. If I didn’t know him so well, I would have been offended. But I knew it was just his overly-dry humor and he was teasing me. I shut my mouth and pretended to glare at him for a second before I slowly opened my lips just enough to let out the most annoying sound I could manage - just a single, flat, high-pitched, screech-like noise.

“I don't think I hear a difference,” he said in that same deadpan voice.

My mouth dropped open. “What would your mom say if she knew you said that to the mother of your child?”

“What are you going to tell her? That you were just sitting there, minding your own business being perfectly normal and quiet, and I randomly said that you sound like a cat in heat?”

“Yes!” I screeched.

"That's it," he said as he stood from his lounger. Before I realized what was happening, he had picked me up and thrown me over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

"No! Put me down!" I tried to make my yell menacing, but my laughter ruined the illusion.

He took a few steps towards the pool and asked, "Want me to put you down?"

"Yes!"

I felt him shrug. "If you insist."

"What? Wait no!" 

He lifted me by my hips and threw me into the pool. I floundered for a bit underwater before I got my bearings and surfaced, taking a deep breath and opening my eyes to glare at him. I was just opening my mouth to scold him when he cannonballed in right next to me, filling my mouth with pool water. I coughed and sputtered and wiped the water off my face. Levi surfaced with a shit eating grin on his face, but didn't say anything.

I punched his shoulder. "You're an ass."

He didn't even pretend like the punch hurt him. We both knew better.

"I'm hungry." Levi and I looked over at Holly who was floating behind us in the pool. "Can we go get lunch?"

We nodded and climbed out to dry off. I heard some girlish giggling nearby and looked over to see three college-aged girls sitting together on loungers. All three of them were looking in our direction and whispering to each other while giving their best bedroom eyes to someone. I turned around to look at what they were staring at. Levi had a towel covering his head and was currently drying off his hair. The muscles in his arms, chest, and stomach rippled with the motion. His swim trunks were weighed down with water and sat low on his hips showcasing his Adonis belt. He removed the towel from his head and combed his fingers through his damp hair, showing off his jawline. He looked like he was in a goddamn Calvin Klein commercial.

Yup he'd definitely put on muscle since high school. 

The giggling behind us only intensified as he kneeled behind Holly and gingerly helped her dry her long hair.

I think I just ovulated.

He must have felt me staring because he looked over at me. I suddenly found my nails very interesting. They became even more interesting as I saw him stand back up and approach me. He stopped less than a foot away from me.

"You okay there Kat? You're looking a little… feverish," he said quietly with his stupid silky voice and a knowing smirk on his stupid sexy face. 

I cleared my throat and looked away, nodding my head back at the girls behind us. "You have a fan club."

There was more giggling as he looked over my shoulder at the girls. He watched them for just a few seconds before his eyes moved back to me. "Jealous?"

I just scoffed and crossed my arms over my chest. "You wish, you pompous DILF."

"DILF?" He asked with a cocked eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes. "Like a MILF, but with dads instead of moms." 

He smirked and stepped even closer as he bent down level with my ear and quietly said. "You can call me Daddy all you want." The volume he spoke at made his voice sound even deeper than usual and I felt goosebumps spread down my arms.

My face heated up and I stepped back. I didn't even look up at his smug face as I pushed past him. "Man I'm starving. What do you want for lunch, Holly?"

\-----

>Levi<

After lunch, I drove us back to Mom's house so that Kat could get her things. She was going home to start packing and look at apartments and she asked me to keep Holly one more night so that she could do all of that without distractions.

I was trying to figure out how to tell Kat that she needed to be mindful of a possible pregnancy. Eld was right when he said she wouldn't believe me if I just outright told her that he swapped her birth control pills for sugar pills, because what kind of a fucking person does that? So I needed to think of a way to covertly ask if she was on her period. Eld said she was due to start, so if she had then it was probably all okay.

Mom had some empty boxes laying around the house so I stacked them all together and took them out to Kat's car for her. She was putting her suitcase in the backseat and getting ready to leave.

"I know you're gonna be busy today and tomorrow with packing," I started to say as I closed the trunk of her car. "I'm going to the store later if you need me to pick up anything for you."

She thought for a moment before she shook her head. "I think I'm okay. Thanks, though."

"You don't need, like, tampons or pads or anything?" Fuck I sound like an idiot.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "No, but even if I did I would just get them myself."

I nodded, doing my best to play it cool. "That makes sense, sure."

She kept staring at me. "Are you okay?"

"Me? I'm fine. Are you okay?" All I could do was picture her with a swollen belly. Something triggered in my male/dad/husband lizard brain and I felt a swell of affection in my chest thinking about how she must have looked pregnant with Holly. But then I remembered that this one wouldn't be mine; it would be Eld's. I had to bite back a growl thinking about it.

She shrugged and her face finally went back to normal. "As okay as I can be I suppose."

"Well, if you think of anything you need, let me know."

She nodded.

"And we can go look at apartments tomorrow after school."

She started to nod, then stopped when she realized what I'd said. "You don't have to come."

"Yes I do. I want to make sure my daughter is living somewhere nice and safe."

She frowned at me. "Levi…"

I interrupted her, "And you can text me your bank account info so I can start transferring my half of the rent and grocery bill to you."

"Levi…" she said a little more forcefully. "I already told you no."

"And I already told you yes. I have almost no bills right now while I'm living here. I have more money than I know what to do with. Let me help you, you stubborn brat."

We stared at each other for a long time before she finally groaned and looked up at the sky, slumping her shoulders in defeat.

"If it gets you to shut up, then okay," she said.

"Good. And you're not staying in some shit ass apartment complex in an effort to save me money. You're moving somewhere nice. With a fucking on-site gym and a pool and 24/7 security guards and shit."

"I already said okay, you harpy," she snapped.

"Okay then. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you."


	5. Chapter 5

>Kat<

It didn't take long to get all of our things packed and loaded into a moving truck. We weren't taking any of the furniture from the house, so it was mostly clothes and a few kitchen items that I had brought with us when we moved in. The longest part of this whole process had been finding a place that Levi and I both agreed on. It was frustrating to hear him harp on every imperfection at every apartment we looked at. The building was too close to the street, the gates at the entrance to the complex weren't secure enough, he didn't think there was enough lighting on the sidewalks, etc. We finally found a place he was okay with and I filled out an application right after the tour. A week later, Holly and I were moved in. It wasn't a luxury apartment, but it wasn't your run-of-the-mill college apartment, either. The floors were manufactured hardwood, the kitchen appliances were new, the unit came with internet and cable included in the rent, and the two bedrooms were fairly big with their own bathrooms. 

Holly didn't understand at first when I told her we were moving out and that she wouldn't be spending time with Eld anymore, but luckily Levi had been there to keep her distracted so that I didn't have to keep answering her difficult questions.

It was our second day at our new place and I was in the process of unpacking everything. By the time we finished unpacking the truck yesterday, Holly, Levi, and I were too exhausted to do anything more. We ordered takeout for dinner and then Levi took Holly to his mom's house to stay the night there while I stayed at the apartment and slept on a bare mattress on the floor. Of course Levi and I had argued about my sleeping arrangements, but I eventually won through pure stubbornness.

As I ate breakfast, I wrote up a to-do list for the day. Our bed frames and couch were delivered yesterday, so those needed to be unpacked and assembled. And at some point I needed to go grocery shopping because the only thing in the fridge was a 12-pack of soda and our leftovers from dinner. We were using disposable eating utensils, plates, bowls, and cups for the time being until I could order some real stuff. And we still needed cookware, too. And cleaning supplies. And a ton of furniture. I groaned and laid back on the bare living room floor to stare up at the ceiling. I should have asked Eld if we could take more stuff with us. This was getting really expensive.

I took a break around lunch time to eat my leftovers and browse online for some of the stuff we needed. I was typing in my credit card information when I heard keys unlocking the front door followed by the sounds of someone having trouble opening the door.

I got up and walked over, opening the door to reveal Holly standing there with her arms full of shopping bags. I cocked an eyebrow at her. No wonder she couldn't open the door with how much shit she was juggling. "Did you con your dad into buying you a bunch of stuff?"

She shook her head and walked past me into the apartment. "No this is all boring stuff he bought."

"Where is he?" I asked when I noticed he wasn't right behind her.

"Getting more stuff out of his car," she answered as she deposited the bags on the kitchen counter and started unloading them. There were a few packs of dish towels, a box of silverware, and a set of cooking utensils. 

He didn't…

I turned back around just as Levi came walking up. He had a huge box of cookware balanced on his shoulder and his free arm was full of more bags. I could see through the thin plastic bags that it was plates, glasses, and a set of knives.

"You didn't," I said plainly.

He ignored me as he walked past and put everything on the counter. "You can yell at me all you want after we finish unloading the car."

"There's more?" I asked and gritted my teeth in frustration.

Holly groaned. "Yes this is all we've been doing all daaaaay." 

"Oi," Levi barked from the open door to get our attention. "You coming to help or not?"

\-----

>Kat<

By the time we finally finished bringing everything inside and unpacking it, it was dinner time. I couldn't believe everything Levi had bought us. A set of stainless steel pots and pans. A baking set with cookie sheets and muffin tins and stuff. A set of mixing bowls. Cooking utensils including shit like a cheese grater and a can opener. A knife block and a few cutting boards. A set of silverware and dishes, including glasses, coffee mugs, and a few wine glasses. Dish soap, dishwasher detergent, towels, sponges, disinfectant spray. A giant pack of toilet paper. A giant pack of paper towels. Bath towels and washcloths. Toilet bowl and shower cleaner. Even a god damn plunger. And on top of all of that, he also filled the pantry, fridge, and freezer with groceries. He even bought spices. Good spices, too. And that was another thing: everything was high quality. He didn't go cheap on anything he bought. Sneaky son of a bitch.

I made a frozen lasagna for dinner and the three of us ate together before Holly went to her room and Levi decided to go home. I walked him out to his car so that I could chew him out without Holly hearing. "I told you not to worry about this kind of stuff," I told him as I leaned my back against his car and crossed my arms over my chest.

He leaned on the car so that he could face me and crossed his arms and ankles. "No, you refused to let me pay half your security deposit and first and last month's rent. So I took that money and bought this stuff instead. You needed it, and I wasn't going to let you and my daughter live off fast food until you had a chance to max out all your credit cards on this stuff."

I opened my mouth to argue, but didn't get a chance as he quickly moved in front of me, slapping his hands on the roof of the car on either side of me. "Stop arguing with me about this. Just let me take care of you two for once. It's the least I can fucking do."

I sighed and tapped the back of my head against the car. He still felt guilty. Even though it wasn't his fault. "You're so stubborn," I said quietly.

"So are you," he replied as he pushed himself off the car and started fishing in his pocket for his keys. "Holly's going to be hard to deal with if she's as stubborn as you and me."

I couldn't help but smirk. "Oh she is."

"I can't wait to see it," he said sarcastically as he opened his door and got in.

"Levi," I said quietly. 

He sat sideways in his driver's seat with his legs sticking out the car and looked up at me. "Yeah?"

I sighed. "Thank you. I know I'm complaining and telling you to stop spending so much money, but I spent an hour this morning stressing out over how I was going to afford to get all that stuff. You've always been so sweet and loyal and wanted to take care of people." I had to stop for a second to collect myself so I wouldn't cry. "I'm sorry again for not telling you sooner. I should have known I could count on you."

He sighed and got back out of his car. "Come here," he said and held his arms open for me.

I stepped forward, wrapped my arms around his waist, and put my face in the crook of his neck. I was still doing my best not to cry.

"Stop apologizing. We were kids, and kids do dumb shit and make bad decisions. I can't even count how many times I wanted to call you over the years and apologize for leaving and ask if you would take me back. But I never did because I figured you'd be too mad. And that just got worse as more time passed."

"Why did you leave? Did you really think you could never succeed if you stayed here?" That's what he had told me all those years ago. He was going to get his PhD in mechanical engineering and then teach and do research for MIT, but he couldn't do those things if he stayed in our small town and went to our small local college. When I told him I would go with him to his big university, he said that I should stay in town because I loved it here and would be miserable if I left all my family and friends behind.

He sighed and rested his head on mine. "I did eventually get my Master's in engineering, but I didn't actually have any plans at all when I left. I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. You were planning on going to veterinary school and I didn't want to drag you down by being the useless boyfriend that you had to take care of."

"But I had Holly and never got a chance to go to vet school," I said.

He sighed again and hugged me a little tighter. "I wasn't even here and I was still the useless boyfriend who dragged you down."

I shrugged. "You did give me Holly, so I guess you're not completely useless."

He clicked his tongue and finally released me. I took a step back, feeling suddenly cold despite the balmy night air.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school. Let me know if you need anything. And actually tell me if you need something. Don't just go without because you feel like you're bothering me."

I rolled my eyes, but I was grinning as I said, "Yeah yeah. My sugar daddy." My eyes went wide as I realized what I said. Fuck, it was supposed to be an innocent joke but it came off sounding sexual.

I looked back at him and he was just smirking at me. "Good night Kat."

Stupid sexy bastard.

\----

>Kat<

Despite the tumultuous first two weeks of the school year, the following months went by routinely and easily. 

Eld acted like the two of us had never been together. Personally, I was fine with it but Holly was confused and more than a little heartbroken that the man who had thus far been her father suddenly wanted nothing to do with her. Unfortunately, every time I approached him to talk about it he practically ran in the other direction. I vented to Levi about it and he told me that it wasn't worth the effort. He told me that Eld was a scumbag and had always been a scumbag. I asked why he thought that but he just kept changing the subject until I gave up out of frustration.

Holly was the star of her city baseball team. She was still young enough to play on a co-ed team - they wouldn't force the girls into softball for a few more years - and she dominated completely. She was the fastest, she hit the hardest, and she had an arm on her that left all the coaches speechless. Of course, when she first joined, her coach never gave her any play time because who expects the short, skinny girl to be any good? It took Levi threatening the coach to get Holly some play time, and now she consistently earned the MVP award at the end of her games.

Levi was continuing to prove to be a great dad. I don't want to say Holly was spoiled, but between him and Kuchel, she got pretty much everything she wanted. It had taken Holly a long time to warm up to Eld when he and I started dating, but she took to Levi almost immediately and they were nearly inseparable now. I encouraged it, of course. It was nice for me to get so much alone time and for them to bond and get closer. 

I, however, was doing the opposite and trying to spend as little time with Levi as I could manage. He always invited me along to whatever they were doing, but I always found an excuse as to why I couldn't go. I didn't like dwelling on it and I would never mention it to Levi or Holly, but Kuchel's health was quickly declining. She was having more bad days than good lately and I figured it was just a matter of time before she passed away. I knew that the only reason Levi moved back home was to take care of his mom and, once she was gone, he would go back to his prestigious professor job and I couldn't handle that heartache again. Therefore, I kept my distance. I was already catching feelings just from the short time we spent together, and I needed to stop before it got worse.

Christmas rolled around and, after much discussion and debate, it was decided that Holly and I would stay Christmas Eve night at Levi's, spend most of Christmas day there, and then go see my parents Christmas evening.

Christmas Eve night, Holly and I filled the trunk of my car with gifts before I threw my overnight bag in the backseat. At this point, Holly had everything she needed at their house so she didn't need to pack anything. Levi had even converted the guest bedroom into her room. 

All three Ackermans were sitting at the dining room table when we walked in the door. There was no food anywhere, which meant they must have been having some kind of family discussion.

"Perfect timing, you two," Kuchel said quietly as Holly and I took off our shoes at the door. "I've got something to tell everyone."

Holly made her rounds giving hugs to everyone before she took the seat next to Mikasa. I said my quick hellos before settling in to the seat next to Levi.

"I had an appointment yesterday," Kuchel started. "They said that I'm still declining and that they've exhausted conventional methods of treatment."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Levi flinch. I'm sure Mikasa had the same reaction.

"However, the doctor did say that a clinical trial is opening up after the holidays and she thinks I'm the perfect candidate. I don't want to get your hopes up, but this treatment has already gone through testing in other patients and worked. This is the final leg of testing before they send off the treatment to be used commercially," she finished explaining.

I didn't need to look around the table to know how everyone was reacting. Levi and Mikasa, both stoic as ever, were surely giving their mother neutral, guarded expressions like always. Holly was probably just confused. She had yet to experience the death of a family member and I doubt she had learned about clinical trials in school. I made a mental note to talk to her about both of those things later.

"How long does it normally take to see results from this trial?" I asked. 

"Two or three months, usually. The doctor said we would know my status by early April at the latest," she answered.

"Well, fingers crossed."


	6. Chapter 6

>Kat<

Erwin, Hange, Mike, Nanaba, Levi, and I sat around a large table at the local bar. It was late April - prom night - and the six of us had been the unlucky ones to get chaperone duty this year. On the upside, all the kids had babysitters so we were able to spend time together as adults for the first time in way too long. Hence why we were all at the bar. 

"Remember our prom?" Hange asked as she sipped on her drink.

"How could I forget?" I said. "Mike and I won Prom King and Queen and I had to awkwardly slow dance with my big brother in front of half the school."

"I forgot about that!" Erwin said with a laugh.

Nanaba hid behind her drink a little as she said, "Hange and I may have stuffed the ballot box."

"What?" Mike asked his wife incredulously.

"What?" She responded. "It was really funny."

"I had to listen to incest jokes for weeks, you bastards!" I yelled. "At least Mike was a senior and didn't have to come back to school after. I was stuck there for another year!"

"No shit," Levi added. "People used to ask me if I ever had threesomes with you guys."

"You never told me that," I said over the raucous laughter of our friends.

He shrugged and sipped his drink. "You were getting teased enough. I didn't want to make you feel worse," he said quietly. 

I sighed. "You're sweet. You've always been a big softy, no matter what you want everyone else to believe."

He tried to hide it behind his glass, but I saw a little smile spread across his face.

Everyone else's conversations had moved to other topics, but I had some liquid courage in me now and there was something I needed to know. "So when do you go back home?" I asked Levi.

"I figured I'd hang out for another hour and then head out," he answered.

"No, no. Not your mom's house. Home," I clarified.

He scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "I don't understand."

"Back to the city," I said. "You know, where you've got your tenured professor position."

Somehow, he managed to bring his eyebrows even closer together. "What makes you think I'm moving back there?"

"Well, everything with your mom is done now. I know taking care of her was why you came back, but now you don't have to do that anymore," I explained with a shrug.

"Yeah, but Holly is here, and I always said I'd be there for my kids," he answered.

I blushed a little, but stayed quiet. So he was staying. 

"And I've got you here, too," he added.

I had given up weeks ago and just came to terms with the fact that I had feelings for Levi again. Or maybe they never really went away in the first place. Maybe I'd always hung on to the hope that I would reunite with him one day. And now that I knew he was staying in town? It was so on. 

Once again emboldened by the alcohol in my system, I leaned in close and whispered, "You wanna share an Uber back to my place?"

He nearly choked on his drink. "What?"

"You heard me," I said with a smirk. 

\----

>Levi<

The shrill sound of Kat's phone ringing woke me up. I squinted against the sunlight poking through the curtains and started fumbling around to make the ringing stop. I felt Kat starting to shift around next to me as I finally got a grip on her phone. "Hello?" I answered, not bothering to look at the caller ID. I just wanted it to stop ringing so that Kat could keep sleeping.

There was silence for just a moment before the woman on the other end asked, "Levi?"

"Yeah?"

"Well that answers like three of my questions."

"What do you want, Mom?" I was immensely happy that the clinical trial had been a success and my mom was completely cured. I counted myself lucky everyday that I could continue having her in my life. However, right now, her voice was annoying the hell out of me.

Kat rolled over and scooted in close to my side. I instantly wrapped my arm around her bare shoulders and pulled her into me.

"Well I went to see if you were awake and ready for breakfast, but you weren't in your room. I called your phone, but it went straight to voicemail. I figured Kat might know where you ended up last night after the bar, and you answering her phone this early in the morning gave me my answer," Mom explained.

"Okay, you found me. Need anything else?"

"I guess not. You guys coming over for lunch or will you be too busy making me more grandkids?"

I groaned as she cackled in my ear. "I'll text you later."

"Okay, good. At least make sure you're home for dinner. I've got something I want to discuss with you. And bring Kat."

"We'll be there. Love you Mom."

"Love you too Levi. Be safe."

I hung up on her as she started cackling again.

"Your mom is too loud in the morning," Kat mumbled into my chest.

"Tell me about it," I said with a sigh as I set her phone back on her nightstand. 

She rolled onto her other side and moved so that her back was pressed against me. I rolled on my side facing her and gently moved her hair out of the way so that I could nuzzle into the back of her neck. "How are you feeling?"

"Hungover," she muttered.

"Are you regretting last night?" I asked. I was glad she was facing away from me. I didn't want her to see how nervous I was about her answer.

"The only thing I regret about last night was that shot we took once we got here. That was one too many," she answered as she flipped back over to face me.

I couldn't stop from smiling as she threw her leg over my hips and tucked her head under my chin. I put my hand on her thigh and ran it up the length of her naked body until it tangled in the back of her hair.

"You have no idea how happy I am to know you're staying in town," she said.

"I think you showed me last night," I teased.

She pinched my nipple. I flinched and pinched her nipple back.

"Hey!" She whined. "Be serious, this is a sweet moment and you're ruining it."

"Sorry," I said quietly as my hand moved to her lower back.

"Thank you," she said and let out a content sigh.

I quickly reached down and pinched the bottom of her butt cheek. She was ridiculously ticklish there. She yelped and tried to push out of my arms, but I pulled her in tight to keep her from moving.

"You're such a bully," she said with a smile in her voice. "I don't know why I love you so much."

I know it was meant as a tease, but I froze for a moment. "You love me?"

She sighed and put her head back under my chin. "Yes."

When the hell did she realize that? Was it just last night, or before? "When were you planning on telling me?" I asked. 

"Never." 

I opened my mouth to say something, but she spoke again before I got a chance.

"I thought you were leaving again. I wasn't going to bother telling you if you weren't going to be around."

"Maybe I would have stayed if you'd told me," I argued because I knew that's exactly what I would have done.

"And let you throw away your career? No way."

"Online classes are a thing, Kat. That's what I'm going to be doing from now on since I'm living here." 

"Oh," she said quietly. "Shit, I didn't think about that. I'm an idiot. We could have been doing this weeks ago."

I sighed dramatically. "Yes, it's a good thing you're so pretty."

She laughed and buried her face in my chest. "Shut up."

\-----

>Levi<

Kat and I spent the day being lazy around her apartment. Well, part of the day. After she made us breakfast, I had gone on a rampage cleaning everything. I was either too drunk or too horny last night to notice the filth, apparently. Kat was annoyed at first because she just wanted to spend time with me, but she quickly got over it when I reminded her that we'd have plenty of lazy days in the future. 

I didn't have any clothes to wear back home, so when we left to have dinner with Mom I was wearing my dress shirt, pants, and shoes from prom the night before. My coat and tie were folded up in my lap.

"I need a fucking shower," I grumbled from the passenger seat of Kat's car. I felt disgusting.

"I offered to let you shower with me this morning," she said with an exaggerated shrug of her shoulders.

"What, and then put my dirty clothes back on? No thanks."

She rolled her eyes and reached over to grab my hand. "What do you think your mom wants to discuss?" 

"Who knows? Maybe she's going to lecture us about safe sex." I joked, but then paused for a second as realization dawned on me. "Shit. We haven't been using condoms." How in the fuck did I not realize that sooner? We'd had unprotected sex three times over the last 24 hours. Maybe we did need a lecture on safe sex.

"Why would we?" She asked. "I've been on Depo ever since Holly was born."

That confused me. "I thought you used to be on the pill?" Eld has specifically said he swapped out her birth control pills for fakes.

She couldn't hide the look of confusion on her face. "No? Who told you that?"

Fuck fuck fuck. Don't tell her about what Eld did. Don't do it. "I thought I saw you taking something one day at school that looked like birth control pills."

"Oh," she said, completely convinced. "I had to take an iron pill for a few months. You're right, though. They did look like birth control."

I internally sighed in relief. Eld really was an idiot. How was he with Kat for so long and not know she was on Depo? 

We arrived at the house pretty soon after that. Holly was sitting at the kitchen island talking to Mom when we walked in. She jumped off the barstool and charged us as soon as she saw us. Her hands were clasped in front of her chest as she shouted, "Is it true?!"

I flinched and brought my hand down on top of her head to ruffle her hair. "You're too loud, brat. Is what true?"

She ignored my complaint and continued at the same volume as before, "That you and Mom are back together!"

I slid my hand down to her mouth and pinched her lips together. "Too. Loud."

She squealed and wiggled away from me.

"Yes it's true," Kat said. "Your dad and I are back together."

Holly squealed again, this time in pure elation, and fist pumped the air. "Yes! My plan worked!"

"What plan?" Kat asked.

"My plan to make you guys fall in love again."

Kat put her hand up to her mouth to hide her laugh as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "You've been watching too much shitty TV."

"Whatever, it worked!" She yelled as she ran off.

Kat, Mom, and I watched her retreat back to her room before we all turned to look at each other.

"So you're just going with it?" Mom asked us.

"Looks like it," Kat answered as she walked over and sat at the kitchen island. 

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked as I sat next to Kat.

Mom turned down the heat on the stove to let the food simmer before turning around and leaning against the island. "I'm planning on moving this summer."

"Moving?" I asked. "Where?"

"Into a smaller house, maybe a condo. Mikasa is moving away for school this summer and there's no reason for me to try and keep up with everything around here. This house is way too big for just me."

I was already thinking about the options for where I could live. I could probably just move in with Kat, assuming she didn't try and argue that it was too early in the relationship.

"So I was thinking I would find a place, and you can buy this house from me for whatever the new house costs," Mom said to me.

My brain broke for a second. This house was worth way more than some condo. "You sure about this, Mom?"

She nodded. "I've been thinking about it for a while. Holly's already got a room here, you've got all your stuff here." She paused for a moment and smirked over at Kat. "There will be an extra room or two for more grandkids."

Kat blushed and looked away.

Mom continued, "I was back and forth about it for a little while, but after our phone call this morning I decided that this is what I want. We've all made a lot of memories in this house, and I want you to continue making more with your family."

I sighed. This was way too much, but I knew I wouldn't be able to change her mind. Maybe I could find some way to pay her back a little, but for now I was just going to be grateful. "Thanks, Mom. I really appreciate it."


	7. Chapter 7

>Kat<

The last two months of the school year passed uneventfully. 

Mikasa had all of her stuff packed and moved out as soon as graduation was over. She was attending the same university as Armin and Eren, so the three of them were getting an apartment together. And because they were a group of 18-year-olds moving out for the first time, Kuchel gave Mikasa free choice on any furniture, decorations, and kitchen supplies she wanted. After all, Kuchel was going to need to buy all new furniture for her new, much-smaller condo and Levi had always bitched that there was "too much shit" in the house which made it "almost fucking impossible to keep clean", so this was a good excuse for everyone to start over fresh.

"So when are you moving in?" Levi asked me one night as we were having dinner at his house. Holly had already moved the rest of her stuff in and had been officially living with him for a few weeks. "I'm free this weekend if you want to get a moving truck, I can help you."

I hummed a little and swallowed my bite of food. "I think I have a better idea."

He gave me an annoyed look, certainly thinking that I was going to argue that it was too soon to start living together.

"I'd like to remodel a few things, and I thought we could all stay at the apartment while construction is happening. I've got a few months left on my lease and I might literally murder you two if I have to live through a remodeling project with you," I explained.

"Even me?" Holly asked with an exaggerated pout.

I grinned at her. "Maybe not you." I pointed at Levi with my fork. "But definitely your dad."

Levi just clicked his tongue in response. He knew as well as me that he would not handle the mess of a remodel well. It would drive him crazy which would, in turn, drive me up the goddamn wall.

When we finished eating, we all took our plates into the kitchen. Levi did the dishes, I packed away the leftovers, and Holly cleaned the table so that there were no crumbs or food spills. After we each finished our after-meal duties, Holly went to her room while Levi and I started talking about what we wanted to change in the kitchen.

\-----

>Kat<

The remodel was finished and the lease on my apartment was in its final month, so Levi and I were currently boxing up everything in my room while Holly was packing up the few things left in her room.

Levi and I were idly chatting, mostly about the classes he was teaching online now. Unfortunately, since he taught math, his online classes were a little more difficult because he couldn't simply make a PowerPoint and narrate over it - he needed to show the work he was doing. We were discussing all the ways he could make a virtual presentation. 

I was telling him an idea I had about using a drawing tablet as a sort-of dry erase board and screen capture software to record his writing. I had my back turned to him as I removed my clothes from the closet and threw them into a bag. "We can even get you a nice microphone so you can record your explanations while you write," I finished explaining. "What do you think?"

When he didn't respond either way, I looked over my shoulder at him. He was sitting on the edge of the bed flipping through Holly's baby book. I stopped what I was doing and crawled onto the bed. I knelt behind him and loosely draped my arms around his neck as I settled my cheek against his temple. The two of us sat there quietly as he continued turning the pages. Pictures of Holly and me at the hospital right after she was born. Her first bath. Her first real smile. Sitting up on her own for the first time. Her first steps. Her first birthday party where she was crying hysterically as I tried to hand her a cupcake. This was followed immediately by a picture of her happily taking the cupcake from my hand and then smashing the whole thing into her mouth so that frosting went everywhere. Lots of pictures of various family members sleeping on my couch with a baby Holly fast asleep on their chests. Her first day of school. 

And that was only about half of the book.

When he was done looking at the pictures, he closed the book and set it in the box next to him. His hands reached up to rest on my elbows and he quietly asked, "Can we have another baby?"

"I just had my Depo shot which is good for three months, and then it takes about three months after stopping birth control to start ovulating again, so it'll be almost six months before we can try which means I'd give birth in the middle of the school year, which I don't want. I'd rather plan it around giving birth during summer vacation," I explained before planting a kiss on the side of his head. "But we'll plan better next year."

"Wait," he said as he turned around in my arms to look at me. "No arguing about it being too soon or needing to get married first? I had a whole speech planned out to convince you."

I shrugged. "We've already had one kid out of wedlock and we're doing just fine. Besides, we can get married in the meantime since we won't start trying for a baby for almost another year."

I squeaked a little in surprise as he quickly wrapped me in a tight hug and buried his face in my chest. "I love you so fucking much," he said into my shirt.

With a little chuckle, I rubbed the back of his head and shoulders. "I love you too."

He pulled away from my chest just enough to look up at me. "You were quick with that birth control and pregnancy timeline. This something you already thought about?"

I nodded. "Pretty much as soon as we got back together I knew I wanted to marry you and have more kids."

"And you didn't think I would like to know that?" He deadpanned.

"And scare you off? Fuck no, I just got you back."

"Well you're stuck with me now, brat."

With a hum, I played with his bangs a little and asked, "You promise?"

He sighed and stuck his face back in my chest, his voice muffled by my cleavage as he answered, "Promise."

\----

~A little over a year later~

>Levi<

I walked into the living room one morning to find Kat sitting on the couch. She was curled up on one end with a hand on her stomach and a scowl on her face. 

"Why do you look so constipated?" I asked her. 

"Because I am," she answered.

My eyes got a little wide. I never actually thought anyone was constipated when I asked them that.

She saw my expression and explained, "I haven't popped in like eight days."

"What? Go to the doctor!"

"I made an appointment for this afternoon," she said and took a moment to clench her jaw in pain.

With a sigh, I walked over to stand in front of her. "Anything I can do to help?"

She shook her head.

"Want me to go with you to your appointment?" I asked.

She shook her head again. "Holly has practice this afternoon. You take her, I'll go grocery shopping after my appointment and see you guys at home for dinner."

I sighed again and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. I stopped myself from lecturing her about waiting so long to go to the doctor. It wouldn't help to call her an idiot, and I was trying to show her that I wasn't the same crass asshole I was when we were teenagers. I was still an asshole, but at least around Kat and Holly I was learning to keep my mouth shut. 

\----

>Levi<

I hadn't heard from Kat after her appointment and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. On one hand, if it was serious, I assume she would have called me immediately. On the other hand, if it was serious, she may have wanted to wait so we could talk about it in person. I flip flopped between worried sick and completely calm all throughout Holly's practice.

Now, though, we were arriving home so I'd get my answers soon. Holly entered the house first carrying her backpack. I was right behind her carrying her sports bag. We paused for a moment at the front door to take off our shoes and shout to Kat that we were home. After that, Holly went to take a shower before dinner and I went into the kitchen to talk with Kat.

"Hey Babe," she greeted as I walked into our new kitchen. We'd completely gutted it and had everything redone to make it more open and give us more counter space and storage. The old kitchen was perfectly functional, but this was more our style.

"Hey," I responded as I approached and gave her a kiss. She was standing at the stove stirring something. "How'd it go?"

"They listened to my intestines and I guess they didn't hear normal noises. They thought maybe I had a blockage so they ordered an x-ray."

"Okay, what'd the x-ray say?" I asked.

She grabbed a nearby dish towel and used it to wipe her hands before she fully turned to face me with one hip leaning against the counter. "I was filling out the medical release for the x-ray and there was a question about being pregnant. I told them we just started trying for a baby, so the doctor ordered a pregnancy test just to make sure..." She trailed off and looked up at me with a grin on her face.

I stared at her for a few seconds, my heart rate slowly picking up as the silence stretched on. "And?"

She tried to convey indifference by shrugging, but the growing smile on her face betrayed how excited she was as she said, "And it came back positive. The doctor said it explained every single one of my symptoms.”

I stepped forward and pulled her into my chest so that she wouldn't see the stupid smile on my face. I'm sure she could hear my heart pounding. "When can we tell everyone?"

"I figured we could do it at the wedding," she answered. "Nothing cheesy or extravagant, maybe just a little announcement during the reception."

Our wedding. That was two weeks away. I wasn't sure I could keep my mouth shut for that long. "Can we at least tell Mom?"

Kat was silent for a moment before she let out a sigh and stepped away from me to attend to the food she had cooking. "How about we just tell our immediate family for now? Holly, your mom, Mikasa, my parents, and Mike. And we'll ask them to keep it a secret."

"That's pretty much everybody who's going to be at the wedding," I pointed out. 

"Shit, you're right. We need more friends," she joked.

I stepped forward and pulled her in for another hug, ignoring the fact that she was trying to awkwardly stir something while I was hugging her. "You'll have to help me through the whole pregnancy and birth thing. I have no idea about any of that."

"Don't worry, Babe," she reassured me with a pat on the back. "Holly was a really easy pregnancy and birth, so I'm thinking this one will be the same."

"I hope so," I said and rested my cheek on the top of her head. "You know I'm going to be really protective over you until the baby is here, right?"

"That's fine as long as you know that I'm going to do whatever I want when you're not looking."

I sighed and pinched her cheek a little. "I love you."

She smiled at me. "I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this one. I know I had fun writing it!
> 
> I always have multiple stories that I'm working on simultaneously, but I don't like to publish them before they're done so I'm not sure which one will be the next one I post. They're all AUs, but one is a zombie AU, one's a Pioneer/Civil War AU, one's a high school AU where Levi and Kat are still students (not as a prequel to this - separate storyline), etc.
> 
> I've also got some Jean Kirstein/OC stories where the OC is Holly, so keep an eye out for those as well if you're interested.
> 
> Everyone stay safe out there!


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